11. Make the arrows bright!Gather the shields!The Lord has raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes.For His plan is against Babylon to destroy it,Because it is the vengeance of the Lord,The vengeance for His temple.
12. Set up the standard on the walls of Babylon;Make the guard strong,Set up the watchmen,Prepare the ambushes.For the Lord has both devised and doneWhat He spoke against the inhabitants of Babylon.
13. O you who dwell by many waters,Abundant in treasures,Your end has come,The measure of your covetousness.
14. The Lord of hosts has sworn by Himself:“Surely I will fill you with men, as with locusts,And they shall lift up a shout against you.”
15. He has made the earth by His power;He has established the world by His wisdom,And stretched out the heaven by His understanding.
16. When He utters His voice—There is a multitude of waters in the heavens:“He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth;He makes lightnings for the rain;He brings the wind out of His treasuries.”
17. Everyone is dull-hearted, without knowledge;Every metalsmith is put to shame by the carved image;For his molded image is falsehood,And there is no breath in them.
18. They are futile, a work of errors;In the time of their punishment they shall perish.
19. The Portion of Jacob is not like them,For He is the Maker of all things;And Israel is the tribe of His inheritance.The Lord of hosts is His name.
20. “You are My battle-ax and weapons of war:For with you I will break the nation in pieces;With you I will destroy kingdoms;
21. With you I will break in pieces the horse and its rider;With you I will break in pieces the chariot and its rider;
22. With you also I will break in pieces man and woman;With you I will break in pieces old and young;With you I will break in pieces the young man and the maiden;
23. With you also I will break in pieces the shepherd and his flock;With you I will break in pieces the farmer and his yoke of oxen;And with you I will break in pieces governors and rulers.
24. “And I will repay BabylonAnd all the inhabitants of ChaldeaFor all the evil they have doneIn Zion in your sight,” says the Lord.